Thula

Hababa \| Thula \| Al Hajjrah \| Al Hutayb \| Manakha \| Hajer Saeed \| Central Mountains Landscape \| Central Mountains Life
Thula, home to our guide Bilal, an enthusiastic if somewhat naive, young man who took his religion very seriously, but never failed in his attention to our needs, regardless of his own discomfort or inconvenience. He was in some ways the epitome of everything that is right and wrong with Yemen; unthinkingly accepting what he is told to believe, yet determined to demonstrate the hospitality and consideration for which he wants his country to be known. So whilst he meticulously observes the daily fast of Ramadan, he makes sure we have food and drink and finds us somewhere to hide away from the public gaze to consume them. And, although he expects his wife (a mother of two at 17!) to bake bread, serve tea and make us welcome in their home, he is also saving so she can get an education, although I not entirely sure what she will do with it! Again, spectacular views, fabulous buildings...and a fetid cistern restored with funds from the Great Satan. Irony or what?